I'd like to relate my latest firearms transition. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.
For my entire shooting life I've carried full size service pistols. Mostly that meant a five-inch all steel 1911, with the Beretta 92 and the S&W 4506 Occupying my time, each for a couple of years at a time. I was never bothered by the weight and big guns worked well with my big hands. Everything was copasetic for well over thirty years.
Now, sadly that bitch known as time has taken one more thing from me. After nearly four decades of military and law enforcement service, with one helicopter crash, rolling a patrol car three times, not to mention hundreds of thousands of rounds down range, martial arts and other abuses from youthful ignorance, the bitch has sent her emissary to torment me: arthritis.
It's been coming on for years, but until this last year it's been more of an irritation than it has been debilitating. However, it reached the point where I was having trouble unscrewing a bottle top, not to mention maintaining a firm grip on a handgun. When I tried to really grip down on a tool, or even my cellphone, my digits would seize up. As for my hips, I couldn't lay on one side for more than an hour without discomfort and I was experiencing routine leg cramps during the night. That duty belt and years of IWB carry had taken their toll. The pain had become more or less constant, especially in my hands.
I was forced to realize it was time to change the hardware. I could live on pain killers, just be constantly miserable, or decide to work smart instead of hard. I chose the latter and it was a bit difficult. If I'm totally honest, part of my ego was wrapped up in the big iron.
I'd tried several of the 9mm compacts like the S&W shield and found them pretty snappy. I also had a couple of .380s in the safe, but they're even worse. Still being in the proof of concept phase, I didn't want to drop money on something I might discard. Consequently, the only option was a 1961 vintage Walther/Manurhin PP in.32acp.
I'd picked it up at a gunshow several years ago, just because it was cool. I'd shot it a couple of times and then put it away. It was accurate, the trigger was nice, pretty nice for this family of pistol but I never really considered it for anything serious, until now. I took it to the range with a more serious focus and immediately noticed a few things. First, it cut the shit out of my hand. I hadn't experienced this during my casual outings. But, when I started working from the holster and trying for speed the blood flowed. It was also less than reliable with certain ammo. I didn't experience any malfunctions with European ammo, such as Fiocchi, Privi Partizan and Noma. But, I did have three stove pipes within three hundred rounds of PMC Bronze.
The remedies for these maladies involved breaking of sharp edges and rounding of corners on the rear of the slide, as well as a spring overhaul. The latter being a wise move on a pistol over sixty years old, as a matter of course. The result has been no more blood and no more malfunctions. I've settled on 73 grain Fiocchi fmj as my carry load. Hollowpoints are useless in something this size, with accuracy and penitration being the sole arbiters of maintaining personal meat sack integrity. The Fiocchi has an even 1000ft per second muzzle velocity out of the PPs four inch barrel (3.9 to be precise). It exceeds the FBIs penitration protocol so it will do its job if I do mine. I've found a couple of handloads that mimic the same performance, so training ammo is nailed down. John Brownings first centerfire cartridge gets a bit spendy off the shelf.
The DA trigger is pretty decent and the SA is very nice. The sights are smallish, but eyesight is something the bitch hasn't touched yet to any great degree. The gun points very well for me and the sights typically come up in line, so no searching for the front sight is neccessary. Accuracy is good. Here's seventeen rounds fired at speed, at ten yards.
I'm still stretching the range out to find out where the demon lives, but I'm already confident it will do for the task. Since I've adopted it my hands are much improved. I've experienced more discomfort typing this post than shooting. I've eliminated IWB carry as the gun's size allows of effective OWB, as well as frequent shoulder holster use. The pain in my hip joints is much reduced and the cramps have ceased. I still have to deal with gear on my belt at work, but the big issues have been mitigated. I don't know if the PP is permanent, or if it's an interim place holder, but it is allowing me to stay in the game.
I'm edging up on sixty and life has stopped giving and has started taking away. I'm sure some of you can relate.